Few preachers associated with the Restoration Movement fought so strongly and effectively against innovations and apostasy than Daniel Sommer (1850-1940). His efforts were motivated by a profound respect for the word of God, and his ability to defend the truth as he did was possible because of his diligence in studying the Scriptures. This respect and diligence can be seen in the quote below from Allen Sommer – the son of Daniel Sommer – as he recalled the memory of his father.

“When he was home, as a child I remember going to bed at night leaving Father seated at a writing table with the Book open before him, and a piece of heavy paper or card-board bent around the coal-oil lamp chimney, to shade his eyes … there he was—reading and writing—always writing and reading … And when I sleepily drifted into the room next morning, there he was—reading that Book, and writing … always writing and reading. I wondered if he’d been there all night … Sometimes he’d pause, lift his massive head and shoulders and gaze straight ahead. I wondered then what he saw. Later I concluded he was turning over in his mind a scripture, looking under, around, and behind, for safe-and-sane solution…” (Faith and Facts Quarterly, Volume 48, Number 2, p. 19).

Daniel Sommer had such a habit of Bible study that his young son wondered if he ever went to sleep or stayed up all night with the word of God open before him. This diligence is commendable. We all need to strive to maintain such a habit of studying the Scriptures. Yet there was more involved in the study done by Sommer than just the time he spent in it. His young son noticed the time, but as Allen Sommer grew up, he realized that his father’s approach to the Scriptures – looking for a “safe-and-sane solution” to the issue at hand – enabled him to teach and defend the truth so effectively.Continue Reading